A workshop was held at our suboffice where different trades
were taught: Botiking (tye-dye), sewing, crocheting, and soap making. The goal
of this workshop was for women who have either dropped out of school or are
unable to get funds for school to learn one of these trades to help support
themselves. There was a total of 8 different girls brought (one of them a 14
year old single mother).
I brought 1 JHS (middle school) child to the workshop. Her
name is Aisha and she is the senior prefect of her school. She told me that her
mother had taken her firewood that she had been collecting and sold it and used
the money herself.
The day was a busy day and it began early with soap making
and botiking. The girls were split up into 2 different groups and half went to
do soap making and the other half botiking.
Here are what the girls learned:
Soap making:
Step 1- Mix caustic soda with water (1:4 ratio) the night
before
Step 2- Heat palm oil until the palm oil appears white
Step 3- Heat Shea butter until completely melted
Step 4- Let the palm oil and shea butter cool and then mix
the two together in a 1:1 ratio
Step 5- Add in Moringa leaves
Step 6- Let the soap sit for 1 week and then use
Botik
Step 1- Heat Wax
Step 2- Take wooden stamp and dip into melted wax
Step 3- Place stamp on cloth and press wax firmly onto cloth
Step 4- Repeat step 3 until desired pattern is achieved
Step 5- Prepare dye mixture: Take 2 spoons full of caustic
soda and pour into water (amount depending on deepness of dye color), take hydro
(2 spoons full) and add it in, and lastly add in dye.
Step 6- Put cloth into dye and mix thoroughly
Step 7- Let sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour
Step 8- Dry and it’s ready for use!
